Nauru riot was inevitable, say Salvation Army staff

Group of 31 staff who have worked at asylum centres attack 'cruel and degrading policy' of offshore processing

A statement issued by Salvation Army staff said last week's riot at the Nauru detention centre was the result of a 'cruel and degrading policy'. Photograph: Department of Immigration and Citizenship DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP/EPA

A group of 31 current and former Salvation Army staff who have delivered services at asylum processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru have issued a stinging statement describing last week's riot on Nauru as the "inevitable outcome from a cruel and degrading policy" of offshore processing.

The statement says that the causes of the riot, which left the facility almost completely destroyed, lay in the buildup of "pressure and anxiety over 10 months of degrading treatment", and claims despite asylum seekers voicing their concerns about treatment in detention they were "continuously ignored by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship [Diac]".

The statement, published on Wednesday, was signed by Salvation Army staff including case managers and recreational managers, the majority of whom had worked or continue to work on Nauru. It also expresses concern that asylum seekers detained following the riot were not being given adequate access to legal representation and that men injured in the riot were not receiving medical attention.

"Since the opening of the Nauru Regional Processing Centre [NRPC] there have been incidents of unrest that have re-occurred in escalating seriousness. Salvation Army staff in Nauru have been predicting such a tragedy for a long time," the statement says.

"We have worked alongside these asylum seekers since the opening of the NRPC when the men were first housed in tents. Brought them pedestal fans when the temperature within their tents soared to over 50 degrees. Used buckets to empty rivers of rainwater when the same temporary accommodation flooded during the wet season. We comforted men who were brought to Nauru in handcuffs by the Australian government under false pretences. We watched their numerous peaceful protests against the uncertainty of their future. We saw the scars of self-harm, and suicide attempts," it continues.

The statement describes a shocking state of mental health among many detainees on the island. "We have witnessed a man scrabbling in the dirt, suffering a psychotic breakdown for several days without treatment, read another man's suicide note apologising to his family, and seen countless others who suffered similar mental breakdowns," it says.

Speaking to Guardian Australia, Mark Isaacs, who worked as a recreations manager in the centre between October 2012 and June 2013, and published the statement on his personal website, said the decision to release a public statement was born out of a concern for asylum seekers still housed on the island.

"We feared that the men would be portrayed in a horrible light for the actions of the few during the riot," he said.

Diac had previously said that four asylum seekers had been injured in the riot and transferred to medical facilities on the island. But Isaacs, who was not present at the time of the incident, said he believed the number of injuries amongst detainees was higher.

Some 152 detainees have been charged with offences following the riot. They will be tried under Nauruan law, with the trials starting on Wednesday. Sandi Logan, national communications manager at Diac, said he understood the detainees were to be tried in groups of 10.

A spokesman for Diac said that all detainees on Nauru had adequate access to legal and medical provision.